Metalworking
by Pavonibus
Summary: Zuko and his crew save a strange girl, who ends up bringing a bit of life back to the ship. But Zuko's rivalry with Zhao still poses a threat to his newfound happiness. ZxOC


_I've never really been that great at writing fanfictions, but I had a weird urge to write this one. I'm not sure why... It just popped into my head one day and snuggled up in a corner, and try as I did to make it go away, it simply refused. So, here it is. Just so you know, this story centers on Prince Zuko and takes place during the second half of Book One (after Blue Spirit, before Seige of the North). A bunch of things will be the same, but many other parts are going to be completely different so, if you hate that sort of thing, you probably won't be interested in reading any further. But I'll do my best to stay true to the show, as much as that annoying plot vegetating in my head will allow. Hmmm... and that's basically all that has to be said. I'm not going to put a disclaimer, because I find it sort of pointless (I don't own Avatar. That's why this little thing is called a "FANfiction".). Oh, and I will love you forever if you leave a review. Thanks._

_-Pav_

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METALWORKING

Chapter one - Of Memories and Escapees

It was an almost beautiful day at sea. The salty waves lapped against the boat, causing a soothing rock as the vessel lazed onward. The only sounds that could be heard from deck were the splashing of water, the slight creaking of the ship's iron walls, and the occasional call of a gull from above. A sweet sea breeze added to the quiet sensation and that certain feeling of peacefulness that can only be achieved by being in the middle of a glorious nowhere. In short, the scene was enough to put a smile on anyone's face.

Well, _almost _anyone's.

The day was only "almost beautiful" because it was seen through the eyes of someone who couldn't care less. The captain of the ship stood at the bow, leaning on the deck railing and staring at the water. But he didn't see pretty swirls of blue a foam; he just saw water. Water, more importantly, that was seperating him from his goal.

His yellow eyes narrowed.

He had to find the Avatar. It was what drove him forward, what propelled his ship through the waves. If he found the Avatar, that powerful being with the ability to control all four elements, his honor would be restored and at last he would be able to return home. He would be able to leave this cursed ship and never have to board it again. But it seemed like the harder he tried to succeed, the farther away his prey was able to run. No matter how often he came face to face with his enemy, the boy always snaked out of his grasp, just in time. With frustration, the captain realized that if things kept going at the pace they were, he was never going to be allowed back to the Fire Nation. He would always be known as a banished prince, for as long as his country existed.

His hand involuntarily touched his cheek. An ugly burn mark was there, marring the entire left half of his once-handsome face. It was there to show the disgrace that he was...

His fingers jerked away, as if the burn was still white hot, and he returned to staring at the sea. After awhile, his anger subsided and the fire in his eyes was replaced by a look of cold steel.

- - - - -

Kari scrambled to get to the surface, gasping for air. Water was everywhere. All she could concentrate on was staying above it. A wave forced her under and her heart pounded during the terrible moments where she couldn't see or breath, before she rose to the surface again, choking on salt water. Her arms and legs were starting to feel heavy. How long had she been swimming? How long had she been desperately looking for land?

She went under again and when she came back up, she let out a strangled yell. She couldn't take it anymore. If she didn't find land soon, she was going to drown. She was just too tired to go on.

"Help!" she shrieked. She didn't want to die. "Please god, somebody help me!"

And soon she was underwater again.

- - - - -

"Prince Zuko..."

The scarred captain didn't bother looking up. He recognized the voice of his uncle, Iroh, anywhere.

"What, Uncle?" he muttered to the railing.

Iroh's wrinkled face sported a grin. "I was just wondering if you'd like some cookies," he said. "The cook baked some for the crew and they're quite delicious." He patted his bulging stomach.

Zuko wrinkled up his nose, still looking at the water. The ship's cook was terrible, so he doubted the treats were nearly as good as Iroh boasted. And besides, he wasn't in the mood. He was busy.

"No thank you, Uncle," he said, his voice sharp.

Iroh shrugged. "Oh well then," he said, lazily. "More for me."

And with that, he walked off, leaving Zuko alone again. The prince continued to watch the water, as if determined to, grumbling a bit at the interruption. Iroh was always making odd comments at the most inconvenient of times. He never seemed able to tell when Zuko just wanted to be alone and undisturbed.

But it turned out that his uncle wasn't going to be the only thing to interrupt his thoughts today.

"Help!"

Zuko jumped and looked over his shoulder, expecting to see one of his crewmen in trouble. But then he realized that the cry he had heard hadn't come from the boat; it had come from the water. Brow furrowed in confusion (and aggravation at being confused), he looked back to the water and his eyes widened in surprise. There, right below him, was a girl. She was thrashing about in the water, fighting to keep her head from going under, and coughing. Even from Zuko's place on deck, she looked terrified.

"Help!"she begged, her voice weak and desperate. "P-please!"

A wave overpowered her and she disappeared from sight. Zuko was stunned. Forgetting his anger for a moment, he called over his shoulder to the crewmen in the vicinity:

"Hey! Get over here!"

The three men on deck (Iroh included) blinked.

"Get over here!" Zuko repeated, more fiercely this time. "There's a girl in the water!"

The urgency of the situation finally clicked in the men's minds and they hurried to where their captain stood. They all leaned over the rail, trying to spot the person in the waves. But they couldn't find her. She had disappeared. Zuko clenched his teeth and scanned the water. Where was she? She had had brown hair. All he had to do was find some brown hair...

"There!" Zuko shouted, pointing. "There she is! Get a rope!"

The two crewmen nodded and rushed to fulfill his command. They soon returned with a tangled mess of rope, which they quickly and rather unsuccessfully started to untie. Zuko swore under his breath.

"Keep your eye on her, Uncle!" he hissed to Iroh. Then he rounded on the crewmen and, with a few vehement remarks, helped them untangle the rope.

"Just hold on!" Iroh called to the brown blot that was the girl. "We're almost ready!"

Zuko's hands worked furiously, yanking apart knots at a violent speed, until finally the rope was useable. Then, with an almighty heave, the prince and the two crewmen threw the line to the girl.

"Take the rope!" Iroh told her. "We'll pull you in!"

It was almost impossible to tell if she had heard him or not, but there was no time to waste. The four of them frantically started to pull in the rope. Thankfully, they saw that the girl was being brought in as well. Before long, they were gently setting her down on the deck.

The four men kneeled around her, watching as she coughed up seawater and took in air. She looked pitiful, Zuko thought. She was naturally petite but her scraggly, wet hair and clothes made her seem downright tiny. She didn't open her eyes and Zuko was vaguely reminded of a newborn animal. Something about it all caused a twinge in his chest.

The whole ordeal had caused a huge commotion and now other crew members were filtering onto the deck to see what had happened. They all formed a circle around the girl, whispering to each other.

"Is she dead?"

"Of course not, you idiot. She's breathing."

"She's so young... Can't be any older than Prince Zuko..."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Quiet, she's waking up!"

The last comment was Iroh's and sure enough, the girl had started to stir. She opened her waterlogged eyelids and stared blankly into space, until her gaze started to focus and she blinked. Her head was turned towards Zuko, so he was the first person she saw. Her eyes widened slightly and before Zuko knew what was going on, she had hoisted herself up and thrown her arms around him. He stiffened. What was she _doing_?

The crew stared, open-mouthed. Zuko felt his face grow hot and moved to push her off of him. But then she let out a sniff and he realized what was going on. She was crying.

"Th-thank you," she managed to choke out between sobs. "Oh thank you s-so m-much..."

Zuko was flustered. What was he supposed to say to that? But luckily, Iroh saved him the trouble. His uncle seemed to be the only person there who understood. He reached out and stroked the girl's back, soothingly.

"What's happened to you?" Iroh asked.

The girl broke down into more tears and Iroh murmured a few words of encouragement. Then finally, she was able to get herself together enough to answer him.

"I-I thought I w-was going to die," she said into Zuko's shirt. "E-everyone else did..."

"Everyone else did what?" Iroh asked, patiently.

"D-d-died..." the girl croaked. "My whole village... D-dead..."

An icy silence followed the statement. Zuko felt, if possible, even more awkward. Only Iroh kept himself steady.

"How?" he asked.

"Killed them..." said the girl. "The Fire Nation... killed them..."

"And what Nation are you from?"

"Th-the same..." said the girl. "We were all l-loyal citizens of the Fire Lord. B-but they attacked us. I don't know why."

She suddenly squeezed Zuko tighter and started to shake.

"I-I ran," she said. "I couldn't fight s-so I ran. I w-was scared... I ran to the shore... I swam away... There was so much fire, s-so many screams... I h-had to run away. I didn't have a choice!"

She broke into violent sobs and Zuko was almost afraid. But Iroh managed to calm her down by telling her it was alright and patting her shoulder. When she had settled, Iroh continued talking to her in hushed tones, but Zuko didn't listen. He was still shocked by what she had said. Surely, it couldn't be true? The Fire Nation wouldn't kill its own people. She must have been mistaken...

But either way, she was without a home or a family now. And without realizing it, Zuko started stroking her back along with Iroh.

- - - - -

Kari sat down on her new bed and looked around the room. It was small and the slanted roof added to the generally claustrophobic feel, but at least it was a room. At least she was here instead of still floating at sea.

She shifted uncomfortably in the new clothes the crew had kindly given her, trying to find a position where the rough, brown fabric wouldn't itch as much. She was incredibly thankful to the people that were helping her, but she couldn't quite bring herself to call the ship home. It was just so... different. And it was captained by a banished prince, which was even more strange. She had heard many distasteful things about Prince Zuko and now he was her host.

She finally gave up at curing her itchiness and sighed. Her mind was just so jumbled. The only thing she really had now was Prince Zuko and his ship, even though she had been taught for two years to believe the Fire Lord's son was disgraceful. And, more importantly, her friends and family were gone forever. All that she had cared about was probably just a pile of ash now. Which brought her back to her first thought: she needed the banished prince and his crew.

If she'd had any more tears left in her, she would have cried. But instead, since her eyes were too sore and swollen to let out anything else, she slipped under the bed's crimson blankets and willed herself to go to sleep. She was exhausted; maybe her situation would seem less frightening and confusing after a good night's rest. And with that idea in mind, she was soon fast asleep.

- - - - -

Zuko was leaning back against the wall of his room, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a scowl on his face, although he wasn't necessarily angry. He was just thinking. It seemed that after two years of anger and frustration, his face naturally decided to look upset.

Iroh was also in the room, fiddling around with some antiques on his nephew's shelf.

"Her name's Kari," Iroh said, after awhile. "That's what she told me after a bit of tea. It works every time to calm people down."

He gave Zuko a teasingly meaningful look, but the prince didn't notice.

"What do we do about her?" Zuko asked. He tried not to show that he really didn't have the slightest idea.

"Well," said Iroh, putting down a rather gaudy sheath. "I guess we'll let her stay. She seems to like being here, don't you think?"

"How could she like being here?" said Zuko. "She probably wants to be back home, doesn't she?"

Iroh shrugged and said in an amazingly nonchalant voice: "This _is _her home. Now, anyway."

Zuko's arms fell to his sides. His uncle went and gave him a pat on the shoulder, then left the room, muttering something about cookies.

* * *

_Chapter one is done. Wahoo! If you have any suggestions or comments, please review! I even welcome flames (I can roast marshmallows on them...)_


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